Family heartbroken after man, 23, killed at Little Haiti’s Taste of Miami Karnival

A South Florida family is heartbroken and grieving after someone shot and killed a 23-year-old man while he was attending a festival in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood over the weekend.

The shooting happened late Sunday near the main stage of the Taste of Miami Karnival in the area of Northeast 2nd Avenue and Northeast 62nd Street, Miami Police officials said.

Three victims, two men and a woman, were found shot, and they were rushed to the hospital. One of the men, identified as 23-year-old Kitchner Cyrille, did not survive, police said.

One man was killed and another man and a woman were wounded in a shooting during the Taste of Miami Karnival in Little Haiti on Sunday night, Miami Police officials said. NBC6’s Briana Nespral reports.

Cyrille’s aunt and uncle told NBC6 on Monday that their nephew, whom they called Junior, was a beacon of light.

“Right now, just a gaping hole,” Chrislyne Brumaire-Florence said.

“Great smile, great energy, great aura,” Rene Charles said. “You don’t wake up thinking you’re going to lose someone you love this close and you were with them prior.”

Cyrille was pronounced deceased at the hospital. Detectives said another man and woman were shot, one in the arm and one in the leg. Brumaire-Florence and Charles said the other man is also their nephew.

“Heartbreaking, a gaping hole, a nightmare,” Brumaire-Florence said.

Cyrille graduated from Miami Edison Senior High School and went to a junior college, where he ran track. He was a son, nephew, cousin and friend. His family said he had a passion for fitness and hanging out in the outdoors with his uncle.

“Most helpful hand in the family. If you need something, he will sacrifice his time to do it all,” Charles said.

Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales said Monday that no one is in custody, but there is a person of interest.

“No matter how much planning you have, it is incredibly hard to dissuade someone who has a target in mind,” Morales said. “It appears to be a crime of opportunity.”

The family said they don’t want a tragedy like this to ever happen again.

“There’s no peace at this moment. You left a gaping wound,” Brumaire-Florence said. “This is not how the story was supposed to end.”